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Star Citizen developer aims to Beta test single-player Squadron 42 in 2020 - KitGuru
5 most controversial Android apps and games from 2018! - Android Authority
Package thieves ambushed by an engineer's 'glitter bombs' were not all real robbers, he admits - CNN

Star Citizen developer aims to Beta test single-player Squadron 42 in 2020 - KitGuru

Posted: 21 Dec 2018 04:17 AM PST

Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) has had quite the lucrative year, with Star Citizen breaching the $200 million milestone and launching its first planet, Hurston. In an end-of-year letter, CEO Chris Roberts revealed that CIG had secured an addition private investment of $46 million, as well as launched its Squadron 42 roadmap, aiming to hit Beta in the latter half of 2020.

Roberts is proud to have hit a staggering $211 million-and-counting just through word of mouth, bypassing the traditional marketing found in other triple-A video games. Despite this success, CIG is concerned that the standalone single-player experience will be buried against competition with more advertising revenue.

In an attempt to circumvent this, CIG has accepted private investment from the founder of independent music company Zomba, Clive Calder and Snoot Entertainment’s Keith Calder. Between them, the $46 million has bought approximately 10 percent shares of CIG’s US and UK companies, while Roberts retains around 75 percent shares of the overall firm.

As the company spends more on marketing, CIG has stated that it will further endeavour to be more transparent about its finances. While the developer has annually published UK financials, it will make its global revenue distribution known via its corporate website, right next to the public counter showing the total money raised.

“This investment helps secure our independence. We may not have the resources that an Activision or EA have to launch one of their tentpole games, but we now control our own destiny in marketing Squadron 42, especially as we have a secret weapon: all of you!” Roberts wrote. “Between the power of the best community in gaming to help get the message out and these additional funds we will be well positioned to enable Squadron 42 to enjoy the success that it deserves.”

Squadron 42’s roadmap will have “the same caveats” as Star Citizen’s, but the primary aim is to get features and content largely complete by the end of next year. This will allow for an Alpha test during the first 6 months of 2020 for balance, optimization and polish, followed by a Beta in the latter half.

KitGuru Says: I stand with many in the ‘believe it when I see it camp’, but I do have the best of wishes for the game. The scope goes far beyond that of other triple-A games, so it would be good to see CIG set a new precedent. Are you looking forward to Squadron 42?

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5 most controversial Android apps and games from 2018! - Android Authority

Posted: 22 Dec 2018 05:00 AM PST

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5 most controversial Android apps and games from 2018! Android Authority
The App Store created 164 new million-dollar publishers in 2018, twice that of Google Play TechCrunch
How this Touch ID scam can cost iPhone users hundreds of dollars The Daily Dot
First-time million-dollar apps on Play Store half that of Apple App Store — again Android Authority
Apple Will Let You Send In-App Purchases in Time for Holidays Tom's Guide
View full coverage on Google News

Package thieves ambushed by an engineer's 'glitter bombs' were not all real robbers, he admits - CNN

Posted: 22 Dec 2018 06:40 AM PST

The idea was glorious: To get revenge on thieves swiping packages off doorsteps, ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober built parcels with a pound of glitter and fart spray that burst out when the lid was lifted. He also put phones in the package to record thieves' reactions and to capture their location.

The video Rober released of five "glitter bombs" in action was the perfect antidote for anyone who'd ever arrived home to find only a doormat where a delivery should have been. They showed giant glitter messes and complaints about the stench (one thief even said he was worried about how his girlfriend would react to his smelly, sparkling car).

Ex-NASA engineer creates glitter bomb trap for package thieves

But now, Rober is apologizing for footage of two of the glitter attacks, which he admits is "misleading."

Rober explained that he'd asked his friends -- and friends of friends -- to try out his invention, even offering to pay those who could recover their packages.

What Rober didn't know, he said, is that some people called on their own buddies to pretend to be robbers, then sent the sham reaction videos to Rober, who passed them off on social media -- unwittingly -- as authentic.

Rober took to Twitter on Thursday to let his audience know about the mishap.

"From the footage I received from the phones which intentionally only record at specific times, this wasn't obvious to me," he wrote. "I can vouch that the reactions were genuine when the package was taken from my house."

Rober, seemingly contrite and a bit wounded, said he has removed 90 seconds from the original video he'd posted on YouTube because it shows the reactions of phony thieves.

"I'm especially gutted because so much thought, time, money and effort went into building the device and I hope this doesn't just taint the entire effort as 'fake,'" he wrote on Twitter. "I know my credibility is sort of shot but I encourage you to look at the types of videos I've been making for the past 7 years."

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